Last



prl `28, 1936. R, B'MCCARTHY 2,038,528

LAST

Filedreb. 21, 19:55

. /M/E/v TUR Patented Apr. 28, 1936 UNITE-o sr- 'rer oFFiE.

LAST

of Massachusetts Application February 21, 1935, Serial No. 7,629

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to lasts and its object is to improve lasts of the type shown in United States Letters Patent No. 1,795,661, granted March 10, 1931, on my application. The last 5 shown in this patent has a recess cut in the inside surface of its 'bottom at the shank to accommodate the inside edge of an insole applied to the last, so that the lower surface of the insole edge forms a continuous surface with the normal surm face of the last adjacent to it, thus permitting the upper to be lasted down to fit exactly the normal, unrecessed surface of the last in this vicinity. In making shoes prior to the invention of this patent the insole lay on the normal surface of the last with its innery edge forming a shoulder adjacent the last bottom, and the effort to pull the upper of the shoe into contact with the last in this vicinity resulted in distortions, wrinkles and pockets due to overstretching the upper. Also the inside edge of the insole was often weakened by skiving, in order to diminish the thickness of the shoulder formed by it, and to permit closer lasting of the upper. Y

Since the invention of this patent there has been an increased use of special insoles known as saddle or cookie insoles having a wide extension at the inside edge of their Shanks, extending up the inside of the shoe to a distance of onethird or one-half of its height. These extensions or cookies form an element of various arch supporting devices.

The object of the present invention is to provide a last which will have all the advantages of the last of the patent in connection with the manufacture of shoes which utilize the cookie insole, and to-that end I have provided a recess in the inside lateral face of the shank portion of the last to accommodate the upper edge of the inner shank extension which is characteristic of such insoles, thus permitting close and accurate lasting of the upper in the vicinity of the upper edge of such an extension.

Advantageously, also, the last is provided with the lower, bottom recess shown in the patent mentioned, so that the novel last is adapted to the manufacture of shoes of both types. I have found that the recess not in use does not mark or mar the shoe in any way.

These and other features of the invention cornprising certain combinations and arrangements of parts will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, in which Fig. l is a perspective View of the last;

Fig. 2 is a plan View illustrating an insole;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the last with a shoe on it having an ordinary insole; and

Fig. 4 Vis a cross-section of the last with a shoe on it having a cookie insole. v

The last I0 of the present invention is of any desired style or size. It has a longitudinal recess I2 in its shank portion, extending from the ball portion to the heel breast portion, and located under the inner edge I,-indicated in'dotted lines in Fig. 2, of an ordinary insole when the insole is applied to the last. 'The -depth of the -recess at its edge I6 corresponds vto the thickness of the insole edge in this locality. The recess grows shallower toward the center of the last bottom until .it runs .out into the ordinary bottom surface of the last at I8.

In shoemaking with the ordinary insole, the insole (Fig. 3) is applied to the last with its innerY shank edge I4 nesting in the recess I2, with its lower face forming a continuous surface with the surface of the last 2i) adjacent to the recess, so that the upper 22 of the shoe, when lasted, will take the exact normal shape of the last at the inner edge of the insole. The inner edge of the insole, which ordinarily separates the upper from the last in this locality, is sunk in the recess I2 so that its lower surface comes flush with the original last surface.

'Ihe last also has a second recess 24 substantially coterminous with the recess I2 and located above it, with its uppermost point 26 one-third to one-half way up the inner side of the last. Its upper edge curves from the heel breast and the ball locations, upwardly to this point. The recess is formed in the same way as the recess I2 and is adapted to accommodate the inner shank extension 28 of a saddle or cookie insole such as is frequently used in the manufacture of arch support shoes of various types. The upper edge 3@ `of the recess is cut to a depth corresponding to the thickness of the inner shank extension 23 of such an insole, and the recess becomes shallower in its lower portion until it merges in the normal surface of the last at a locality 32 beyond the inner edge of the recess I2.

In making a shoe with a saddle insole on the last, the inner shank extension 28 of the insole is nested in the recess 24 so that its outer surface at this edge comes flush with the last surface 34 adjacent the recess, thus forcing the upper 22, when lasted, to conform to the normal surface of the last, in this locality.

I have thus provided a last which can be used with insoles of either the saddle or the ordinary types, by the use of which the lasted upper of the shoe is forced to assume the normal shape of the last at the inner shank locality, and the usual stretching and straining of the upper at this locality, in the effort to get it down on the last, is avoided, resulting in the saving of time and labor and in handsomer shoes, both on and off the foot. Also the full thicknessof the insole in this locality can be utilized to give additional strength to the shoe in this locality, since no skiving of the insole edge, as is often practiced in order to allow the upper to approximate the last surface more closely, is necessary, and the inner shank surface of the shoe will be free from wrinkles, pockets or other distortions which frequently resultfrom overstretching the upper in order to make it approximate more closely to the surface of the ordinary last.

In manufacturing lasts according to the present invention, the recesses are cut, by an additional operation, in lasts having ordinary, normal surfaces. The provision for shortening the last to facilitate removing it from the shoe may be of any desired nature, as a hinge mechanism or a removable instep block. The heel end Will be provided with a thimble for the purpose of locating the last on the jack pin of a shoemaking machine.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe last having on its inside lateral surface an arch-shaped recess extending from the ball locality to the heel breast locality, the middle portion of the upper edge of said recess being more than one-quarter of the vertical thickness of the last above its tread face, the depth and shape of the recess at its upper edge substantially corresponding t-o the thickness and outline of the inside shank extension, and the depth of the recess becoming shallower at distances remote from its upper edge, until the bottom of the recess at its central portion merges in the normal surface of the last at a locality above the tread face of the last.

2. A shoe last having on its inside lateral surface an arch-shaped recess extending from the ball locality to the heel breast locality, the middle portion of the upper edge of said recess being more than one-quarter of the Vertical thickness ofthe last above its tread face, the depth and shape of the recess at its upper edge substantially corresponding to the thickness and outline of the inside shank extension of an insole to be applied to the last, and the depth of the recess becoming shallower at distances more and more remote from its upper edge, until the bottom of the recess at its central portion merges in the normal surface of the last at a locality above the tread face of the last, the last being provided also with a second recess at the inside edge of the shank portion of its tread face, the edge of the recess corresponding in shape and depth to the thickness and outline of the shank portion of an ordinary insole to be applied to the last, the depth of the recess diminishing continuously at points more and more remote from its edge until the bottom of the recess merges With the normal surface of the last bottom.

RICHARD B. MCCARTHY. 

